Rhagovelia transbintuni Subgroup

Polhemus, Dan A., 2024, Thirty-four new species of Rhagovelia (Heteroptera: Veliidae) from the East Papua Composite Terrane, far eastern New Guinea, Zootaxa 5400 (1), pp. 1-214 : 155

Rhagovelia transbintuni Subgroup

Members of the R. transbintuni subgroup are small-sized members of the R. papuensis group, characterized by a strongly narrowed and often nearly cylindrical posterior half of the abdomen in wingless females, and the posterolateral angles of the female connexiva bearing prominent setal tufts. Members of this subgroup inhabit lowland to premontane habitats, generally occurring on first order streams near spring outflows. In addition to the previously described R. transbintuni (D. Polhemus & J. Polhemus, 2011) from the Vogelkop Peninsula and adjacent Raja Ampat Islands of western New Guinea, and the new species R. ivimkana proposed herein, the author has in hand at least four additional undescribed taxa in this subgroup from other areas in western and southern New Guinea, inlcuding the Wandammen Peninsula, the Timika area, and the Kikori River basin.